Sure, here it goes:
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So, here we are again. Monday rolls around, and I should get this XR news thing to you. But first — the elephant in the room — what’s the deal with Project Moohan? Everyone’s buzzing about it. Or, well, not buzzing because there’s zilch news. Odd, right? Google’s playing it so low-key, almost like they’re sneaking it out the back. Maybe because if the price is as high as the whispers suggest, they figure it won’t fly off the shelves. Don’t wanna shout from the rooftops only for the story to become “ha ha VR failure” when nobody buys it. Pure speculation on my part, honestly. Anyway — no, wait — let’s see what unfolds soon.
### Highlights of the Week
First thing, Meta’s making waves — or sorta — with smart glasses. Yep, their financials popped out and Reality Labs showed a neat 5% uptick compared to last year. Not from the Quest gizmos though, those are floundering a little. It’s the Ray-Ban Meta glasses, folks. They’re selling like, I dunno, pancakes? Those things with EssilorLuxottica are zooming. They’re tripling last year’s stats. A wild stat from Artillery Intelligence suggests they sold about 600K, which laps what Quest 3 and Quest 3S achieved.
Like, are we watching the entire landscape shift? Seems mixed reality headsets aren’t grabbing the needed buzz. They just aren’t hitting home. People are snagging the Quest 3S mostly for VR games like Gorilla Tag. So yeah, Meta’s tossing the old Quest 4 design out. Doesn’t make sense to keep beating a dead horse. They’re eyeing something lightweight and intuitive, even naming it Puffin/Loma, but that’s possibly a 2026 dream.
For now, it’s smart glasses in the spotlight. They’re neat, trendy, pocket-friendly — okay, maybe not pocket-friendly, but they’re cooler? They sync up with AI, powering up humans as Zuck loves to say. He even dropped the ol’ metaverse bomb again. Good grief.
Anyway — or did I already say that? — let’s shift over to something else.
### Other News Worth Mentioning
Meta’s chirped about VR session times, saying the sweet spot is between 20 to 40 minutes. The “Goldilocks zone,” they call it. Cute, right? If you go less than 20 minutes, it’s barely worth strapping on the headset. Longer than 40, and you might feel like your skull’s gonna collapse. Just my two cents, wearing the Quest for over an hour does start to suck.
Meta says game bits should last 20-40 minutes, not that a game itself is that short. Think missions, levels, those bite-size chunks of joy. Oh, and don’t pull mobile tricks in VR — nobody wants to turn on a headset just to log into a game.
### The Scramble for New Stuff
Speaking of new ventures, Brilliant Labs tossed out their Halo glasses. These are all-day wearables, relying on some AI friend called Noa, who never forgets what you said. Creepy? Maybe.
Also, Meta and Stanford teamed up to unveil some super-thin XR glasses. Just 3mm, they say. But don’t hold your breath — this is all lab stuff right now. Years away, if ever.
Then there’s the news of Meta tweaking their avatars — more hairstyle options, apparently. Exciting, right? Like a virtual makeover session.
Alibaba’s also elbowing into the smartglasses arena with Quark AI Glasses, but details are sparse. Alibaba says we’ll see them by 2025.
Oh, DJI dived into the 360-camera game against Insta360. Osmo 360 at $550, trying to bite into that market pie. Faster, more colorful — can’t wait to see the showdown.
And as if Teams meetings weren’t awkward enough, Microsoft’s making them 3D now. Thanks, guys. Just thanks.
### In the Game World
Warpfrog’s on a new VR game. No big details, just that it’ll be like Blade & Sorcery. And some other cool game releases and developments here and there, like VR life simulators jumping to free-to-play.
Echoes of Mora is brewing for a VR splash, and some VR skydiving, anyone? Red Bull’s “Touching the Sky” sounds crisp, heard it’s shot beautifully.
Oh man, nearly forgot — remember when Star Citizen promised VR? Ages ago. Still inching towards maybe, someday, perhaps.
### Finally, A Reminder and A Thanks
Alright, if there’s one good thing I’ll say now, it’s this: help out if you can. The Red Cross over in Ukraine still needs support as the crisis carries on. And hey, a tip of the hat to all the backers who keep things afloat over here. You’re the real heroes.
Til next time — or something. Keep being curious out there. Cheers!
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(Header image by Meta)
